Tears on the Train

By Charlotte Fainblatt

June 27, 2017

Dear Diary:

I was on an uptown No. 6 train. A man who appeared to be in his 20s was on his cellphone making arrangements for his mother, who had either been hurt or died unexpectedly. I couldn’t quite hear the facts.

I heard him talking about going to a school to inform his younger siblings about the situation. He was calm and polite in his conversation, yet after ending the call, he started to weep quietly.

I wanted to reach out to him, perhaps to give him money to take a taxi home with the youngsters he was on his way to pick up. I hesitated, not wanting to spoil his dignity or intrude on his grief.

As the tears rolled down his cheeks, I turned to a young man next to me and told him how I felt. He got off at the next stop. As he got off the train, he gently handed the man a tissue.